-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Virginia Tech will be fined $ 55,000 for waiting too long to provide timely warnings about a shooter on the loose during a 2007 rampage in which 32 people died , the U.S. Department of Education said Tuesday .

The school said it will appeal .

A December 2010 report said the school did not notify students in a `` timely manner '' -- as dictated by what is known as the Clery Act -- after a shooting that left two people dead at West Ambler Johnston residence hall on the morning of April 16 , 2007 .

The same shooter , identified as Cho Seung-Hui , 23 , went to the university 's Norris Hall more than two hours later and killed 30 more people before turning a gun on himself .

The Clery Act was created in 1990 in memory of 19-year-old Jeanne Ann Clery , who was raped and killed while asleep in her dorm room at Lehigh University . The law requires colleges and universities to disclose information about crimes on or near their campuses .

Federal officials said the $ 55,000 for two violations of the act is the maximum allowed .

`` While Virginia Tech 's violations warrant a fine far in excess of what is currently permissible under the statute , the department 's fine authority is limited , '' wrote Mary E. Gust , director of a department panel that reviewed the case .

Larry Hincker , associate vice president for university relations at Virginia Tech , said Tuesday the school `` respectfully disagrees '' with the fine .

`` As we noted before , neither the Department of Education nor the Clery Act defines ` timely , ' '' Hincker said in a prepared statement . `` The university actions on April 16 were well within the standards and practices in effect at that time . ''

According to the report and Tuesday 's letter to Virginia Tech , police went to the scene of the Virginia Tech dorm shooting at 7:24 a.m. .

At 7:57 a.m. police notified the office of the executive vice president about the shooting . President Charles W. Steger was then notified and an 8:25 a.m. meeting was held to discuss the shootings and how best to notify the campus community . The administration knew that no weapon had been found and that bloody footprints led away from the crime scene , according to the education department .

But it was not until 9:26 a.m. that the university first notified students and staff by e-mail about the shooting .

`` The message was vague and only notified the community there had been a shooting on campus . It did not mention that there had been a murder or that the killer had not been identified , '' the Department of Education said Tuesday .

It was about 15 minutes after the e-mail went out that Cho began shooting in Norris Hall . The rampage lasted from about 9:40 a.m. to 9:51 a.m. .

A second message was sent to the community at 9:50 a.m. with a `` much more explicit warning . ''

`` Because Virginia Tech failed to notify its students and staff of the initial shootings on a timely basis , thousands continued to travel on campus , without a warning of the events at '' the residence hall , the education department said .

University officials disputed the federal findings .

`` We believe that Virginia Tech administrators acted appropriately in their response to the tragic events of April 16 , 2007 , based on the best information then available to them , '' Hincker said .

The university also argued it `` is being held accountable for a new federal standard that was adopted after the April 2007 shootings . '' New rules went into effect in 2008 .

But in its letter to Virginia Tech , the Department of Education said the school did not meet timely warning rules that were in effect on the day of the rampage . The school also is being fined for not following the warning policy it had disclosed to students and staff , the department said .

CNN 's Craig Bell contributed to this report

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Virginia Tech did not send timely warnings , the federal government says

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The university says it will appeal decision

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It claims it met rules that were current at the time ; the U.S. Department of Education disagrees